SAN BERNARDINO >> Dozens of San Bernardino County workers, unhappy with a new contract proposal, expressed concern and hope at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday. The concern: That the county’s fiscal health is coming at their expense. The hope: Fair wages, and a better contract.

It came a day after a majority of county workers voted down a tentative agreement on the proposal. The contract would have meant that the workers, members of the San Bernardino Public Employees Association, would pay a 7 percent retirement contribution that has previously been paid for by the county. The contract also eliminates across-the-board raises and would raise health care costs.

“This will cost me $153 per pay period every two weeks and that amounts to a $4,000 reduction in my compensation yearly,” said Steve Gargana, a 15-year county employee from Redlands who works in the Transitional Assistance Department. “... My wife is also a fulltime San Bernardino County employee and this would be devastating for our family if these cuts go through.”

According to results from the SBPEA vote, 2,001 county workers voted yes, and 3,523 voted no. Two groups of county workers — nursing supervisors and managers — did approve of the agreement in the Monday vote.

The matter is expected to go back to the negotiating table, with parties hoping for a resolution to the issue as soon as possible.

Deidre Rodriguez, general manager of the SBPEA, said she could not comment on the matter because the parties are still in contract negotiations.

“I think the public perception is incorrect in that most of us are earning high wages and a lot of high-dollar benefits,” said county employee Kim Hays, an accounting technician in the Department of Public Works. “A lot of our top officials may get that but the workers who come to work day to day don’t get that. We’ve given up our raises to help the county overall, but to also help our fellow workers. We’re just looking for fair wages, so we can purchase our homes, and we can buy groceries for our kids.”

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Fellow accounting technician Victoria Marrufo said she is hoping for what she and others say would be a fair contract.

“I’m a loyal employee,” Marrufo said. “I love my county I would love to see it be wonderful and bloom again, but not at my expense and my county employees’ expense. We serve the county with due diligence, we take pride in being county employees.”

Supervisors’ Chair Janice Rutherford, in a statement on Tuesday, addressed the workers on behalf of the county.

“To our employees — we do appreciate you,” Rutherford said. “We are engaged in the process of collective bargaining as stated by state law. That process continues.”

She added, “We hope to reach an agreement that serves you and the taxpayers — for whom we are required to come up with a balanced budget — that meets your needs and allows us to provide services they expect from this County. We wish the economy were in much better shape and that we were able to do much more by way of services and employees at this time. We are not quite there yet, but we are on the path and that is what we are trying to get to.”

Also attending the Monday night vote meeting was Joaquin Miramontes, a union leader for Service Employees International Union in Los Angeles. SEIU is interested in unionizing San Bernardino County employees.

“The takeaways they’re proposing to workers in San Bernardino County is really negative. It will have a negative impact on workers, on their immediate families, and on the services they provide. Basically SEIU members like myself go out there and we want them to have what we have. We want to tell them there’s a solution to what they’re facing right now. Basically the solution is we can have some positive change by them joining with SEIU and fighting for a better contract.”

Yesenia Olague, who works in the Transitional Assistance Department, supports workers forming a union under SEIU.

“I’ve actually met with them several times and they’ve represented other counties very well ... that’s what we need,” Olague said. “We need a strong union. If you just look at their track record and what they’ve done for other workers they give good representation to the employee and they help them get compensated the way that they should be.”